Valve lifter noise (I think)

Hi,

For "mechanic in a can" fixes, I've used Rislone w/ some success in cases like this. Others have recommended Marvel Mystery Oil, also w/ some success. Both go in the oil. There are a variety of "top cylinder" oils that go in the gas that may help sticky valves, but I doubt they'll do much for a sticky lifter.

For actual mechanical fixes, a variety of things have helped different folks, in generally ascending order of complexity: use of an OEM oil filter (some aftermarket brands have been implicated), installing new O-rings and seals on the oil pump (major chore, might as well reseal the whole front of the engine, and do timing belt and water pump at the same time to save much labor!), or actually removing the lifters and cleaning or replacing them. As long as the noise goes away quickly, I'd do as little mechanical fixing as I could get away with! Subie hydraulic lifters are notorious for noise, but the same happens on some other boxer engines, so I think some of it just comes w/ the territory!

Good luck!

Rick

I just redid the seals on my 86 GL's oil pump, and the noise stopped dead.

4 bucks worth of parts, plus redid cam and crank seals and timing belts so for about 75 bucks or so, you'll be good to go. If you don't want to take the time yourself...... mabye 300-400 bucks labor, but still a cheap fix when you look at a car payment every month.

If you want to just stop the noise temporarily, Lucas Oil works great, but by no means meant to solve the problem if it is air leaking past the pump's o rings.

Thanks again Joe K. :) :) :)

Mine would have hit the junk yard if it hadn't been for the o ring tip. Thought mine was lifters too. Joe said about 90% of the time it's the oil pump. Don't need a new pump, just the seals for it. Glad I took the gamble.

Mark

[posted and mailed]

"pheasant" wrote in news:GMWdnXOnXM1p72TZnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@midco.net:

Thanks for the compliments but this poster has a Legacy. It uses the 2.2 Liter engine and the valve setup is different. Resealing it can't hurt but I have no idea if it will help enough to be worth the trouble.

BTW, I finished converting my '86 wagon to SPFI and it runs much nicer now. Unfortunately it spent too many years with a badly adjusted carb and the rings are gone. (Too rich = Washes oil off the cylinder walls = Won't pass emission check @ 140K miles)

The engine out of the parts car I used for the conversion has 200K on it and died by overheating. When I pulled it apart for the post mortem I was absolutely amazed. The thing got so hot the block expanded until one of the cylinder sleaves rotated about ten degrees. At that point it blew both head gaskets and shut itself down.

The amazing part is that so little went wrong. The cylinders aren't scored or even excessively worn. They still have cross hatch hone marks from the original build. The main and rod bearings show some wear but the journals are good and they're still within spec on the clearance. If the prior owner had replaced the temp sending unit when it went bad and fixed a minor coolant leak there's no reason this engine wouldn't have gone 300K.

If I can get the sleave back where it belongs without warping everything out of alignment I'll throw rings and bearings in it and run it some more. I could probably reuse the old bearings but a complete set and new rings is still under $100.

Repairable. I like that in a car.

Later, Joe

Yes, four things: a. check your oil pump - the valve lifters need some pressure to work correctly; b. check your oil seals (front crankshaft!) for oil leakage - this can mean loss of oil pressure; b. check your oil level: if it's too low you are at the beginning of costly repairs...; c. check your engine oil viscosity: to thick engine oil takes a lot of time to build up pressure, especially on cold mornings.

Soobie valves are hydraulally driven, they need no adjustment! (See sticker under the bonnet).

George

"Phil Andrus" schreef in bericht news: snipped-for-privacy@newsgroups.olympus.net...